When her favorite patient at a private mental hospital passes away, psychology student Ree Hutchins mourns the elderly woman's death. But more unsettling is her growing suspicion that something unnatural is shadowing her.

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Amateur ghost hunter Hayden Priest believes Ree is being haunted. Even Amelia Gray, known in Charleston as The Graveyard Queen, senses a gathering darkness. Driven by a force she doesn't understand, Ree is compelled to uncover an old secret and put abandoned souls to rest—before she is locked away forever....

I absolutely love love LOVED The Restorer and I finally got to read Amanda Stevens’ novella, The Abandoned, prequel to The Graveyard Queen series. I’m a huge fan of Stevens’ writing style – it’s sexy, fluid and darkly beautiful and The Abandoned doesn’t disappoint if you love her for that alone. She is an exceptional writer, a magician with words, invoking emotion and thought at her own whim. She is THE Queen of creepy. So while I really LOVED The Restorer, I really LIKED The Abandoned, and let me tell you why: it didn’t prominently feature Amelia and Devlin! I know, I know, you get that from reading the blurb, so I did know that going in, but I was still a teeny bit disappointed because I do love those characters and this is a prequel to the series. However, that’s the only grumble-factor for me, because I still liked it a whole heckuvalot. I also get what she did here: instead of featuring Amelia and Devlin, she featured the town itself, prior to Amelia receiving the grant, so we get a little back story and a bit of a teaser. And oh does Amanda Stevens tease us – with sleepwalking, more ghostly fingers and passion! Oh the passion! She knows just how to skirt the edge before dancing back with her words, leaving you yearning for more. I really loved the back story to the town and some of the supporting characters from The Restorer. I definitely had an opportunity to get to know them better than before. She also writes Ree and Hayden so perfectly; both are fleshed out and incredibly realistic, especially considering this is a ghost story. In short, if you’ve read The Restorer, go grab this novella for a quick fix until her second Graveyard Queen book comes out!

Favorite Quote

“There’s a Chinese legend about hungry ghosts. Entities that devour human emotions. Spirits whose sole purpose is to sustain themselves in our realm by feeding on our warmth and energy.”

Jennifer is both a book nerd and professional photographer. That means she lives in the fantasy world all the time, whether of her making, or someone else's.
She collects books like the Duggar family collects kids, and began waiting for her Hogwarts letter at the tender age of 33.